Ferdinand Hiller

[tpaloj]

Thank you. I hope the final ff didn't blast out your ears Reverie!

Thanks very much. Hiller really deserves more recognition from commercial recording labels.

There might be a small ray of light at the end of that tunnel: I'm helping in a project which involves getting a few of his previously unrecorded works edited and performed. It's still too early to go into details, but things are looking good so far. Perhaps some time in the future I'll even try to look into a few of his cantatas and the two Masses and a Passion he has composed.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Terrific work, Thomas. I really enjoyed the Idyll. Some beautiful writing there. You did a magnificent job. I do wish someone would record the VC and the Fantasiestuck for violin and orchestra. Hyperion really ought to try to include them in their RVC series if they can find a violinist who is (a) good enough and (b) prepared to learn them.

[tpaloj]

Thank you Gareth (and everyone previously as well!). I've typed out the VC, but I'm hesitant to create a Noteperformer youtube video for it - having to listen and endure a synth violin going on for half an hour might be a little too much to ask of you...

I'm not a violinist, but the solo part of the VC does seem pretty difficult. It resembles the solo parts in J Joachim's concertos a great deal. Very few chances to rest - it's almost all but a continuous stream of notes. Yet, thankfully lightly orchestrated so that the soloist does not have to struggle to get his voice heard over the accompaniment.

[Gareth Vaughan]

Please do create a Noteperformer video if it is not too much trouble. It will be immensely useful to get a clear idea of the work and, of course, to use it as a way of getting performers and recording companies interested in it.

[Mark Thomas]

Absolutely. This is a potentially important work.

[tpaloj]

Then I'll do my best to make it a good one.

[Mark Thomas]

Thank you so much!

[Alan Howe]

Seconded!

Toskey's Encyclopedia, by the way, says of Hiller's VC that 'the solo part provides no challenge of any kind', i.e. suggesting that it shouldn't be difficult to perform.

The concerto dates from 1875 - from around the same period as his very interesting, expansive PC3. Can't wait to hear it myself.

[tpaloj]

Ferdinand Hiller's Violin Concerto (Op.152a) is a modest, sensitively written work dedicated to Joseph Joachim. The orchestral writing for the most part is kept light and complimentary towards the soloist, whose solo part, at least according to Toskey's Encyclopedia "provides no challenge of any kind" (thank you Alan!). The music unravels with a kind of nonchalant, sunny disposition immediately evident in the mellow opening movement, which includes a Cadenza written by Joachim. There are some dramatic and soaring moments in the second movement, and the final rondo calls for some endurance with its quick passagework and countless arpeggios.

Apologies in advance for having to endure a Noteperformer violin, it's no substitute for the real thing! Hopefully this audio can be enjoyed to some extent and might be useful in evaluating this concerto better regardless.

YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/sG49KuVwEkw

[semloh]

Wow! Thank you, Tuomas. I think "sunny disposition" is a perfect description. It's life-affirming and grand, without being pretentious. I'll leave it to others to react in technical terms, but for me this is a concerto I could listen to again and again - Noteperformer notwithstanding. Let's hope someone takes up the challenge and that it eventually makes its way into the Hyperion series.

[tpaloj]

I'm very happy to hear that semloh. And that you could enjoy it despite this sound format and quality speaks well of the music itself. It really is an unpretentious and enjoyable work which was a complete delight for me to study. It would work well, such easily approachable music as it is, in a real performance no doubt. We have plans of a recording project next year and the score will be made available by then as well. Until then, the autograph full score should hopefully suffice to those who can read music: Hiller's handwriting is pretty neat as far these things usually go.

[gprengel]

Dear Tuomas, I just listen to this new gift which you present to us here - very beautiful!!I love especially the splendid tutti/brass passages of the 1st movement ... and what a beautiful and melodious Andante main theme - so good! Also, I think the solo violin you have treated very well with NotePerformer :-)
And another awesome amount of work you have put into this project, but it was worth it. THANK YOU!
Gerd

[edurban]

This is very exciting...thanks for all your efforts!

[Alan Howe]

I like the work - don't get me wrong - but find it a rather anonymous piece, especially in comparison to the roughly contemporary PC3. Of course I might simply be having a bad day. And Hiller's not my favourite composer. Maybe I shouldn't have listened to the magnificent Kufferath Symphony in C first movement beforehand?

[Gareth Vaughan]

Well, I think it is lovely and I am so grateful to you for having produced this for us. What a lot of hard work - but I really believe it has paid off. And what is this you say about a recording? Please tell us more.